An indepth look at weather and climate by South Carolina's Weatherman Jim Gandy.

Monday, April 2, 2012

A Record March for Columbia

If you thought it was warm in March, you were right. Much of the U.S. east of the Rockies saw
record or near record warmth for the first month of spring. This follows the 4th warmest
winter for the U.S. as a whole. More
information will be released from the National Climatic Data Center next week.

However, we do have the information for Columbia. It was a record March for the city and not by
just a small amount. The average
temperature for the month was 65.4 degrees beating the previous record of 64.7
set in 1945. This was almost 10 degrees
(9.8) above normal for the month.

Top 5 Warmest

Mean Temperature Year Temperature

2012

65.4

1945

64.7

1921

63.9

1907

62.5

1974

61.7

The lowest temperature was 35 degrees recorded on the 6th. The average low temperature was 53.2 which
places it as the third warmest. First
place goes to 1945 with a record average low temperature of 53.9 degree.

Top 5 Warmest

Avg. Low Temperature Year Temperature

1945

53.9

1921

53.4

2012

53.2

1903

53.2

1946

51.7

What really stole the show was the average high
temperature which beat the previous record by two degrees. The average high temperature was 77.7 beating
75.7 in 1945. It is interesting that the
highest temperature for the month was 88 which tied the record highs on the 15th
and 19th. No record high
temperatures were broken during March.

Top 5 Warmest

Avg. High Temperature Year Temperature

2012

77.7

1945

75.7

1974

75.4

1921

74.6

1997

74.6

This was the result of a
blocking pattern that persisted much of the month. A ridge of high pressure in the upper
atmosphere was parked over the eastern U.S. which helped to deflect storm
systems north into Canada.

The last freeze occurred on February
21 with a low of 31 degrees. It does not
appear that any freezes are expected in April.
In fact the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting warmer and drier
conditions for the month. If this does
come to pass then it means that the growing season started on February 22 which
is more than a month ahead of schedule.

March was also dry for Columbia with a total rainfall of
2.21 inches. This made March the 25th
driest March on record. It also means
that the drought continues. There have
only been 4 wet months out of the last 27 months. The rainfall deficit is already about 4.5
inches and is likely to get worse in April.

The outlook for April is for warmer and drier than normal conditions. It is likely to cool down toward the end of the week with another cool shot next week. However, look for very warm conditions for the latter half of the month.

About Me

A professional meteorologist for over 37 years, Jim Gandy is the chief meteorologist at WLTX-TV (CBS affiliate) in Columbia, SC. He has held that position since 1999.
Jim is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and has a number of awards and recognitions for his work over the years. He is best known for his forecast of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and his work during the tornado outbreak in South Carolina in 1994.
Jim continues to study weather and is interested in climate change which he has studied since 2005. Looking for better ways to communicate climate change, he is working with the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University and with Climate Central.
Jim recently began working with the Helmuth Lab at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Brian Helmuth is working in the area of the effects of climate change on the ecology.
All of these subjects are of vital interest to South Carolina.